If I stop cleaning, I fear that I will catch a deadly, incurable disease. Yeah, I think my luck is that bad.

Having shared a bathroom with a sibling growing up and living in the residence halls, I can say that I have seen some pretty nasty things. These traumatizing ordeals have caused me to clean … a lot. When I shower in my residence hall, I have to wipe the stall down with Lysol wipes and then finish it off with the Lysol spray. In class, if the desk I usually sit in looks dirty, I whip out my Germ-X, squeeze some on the desk and wipe it off with a tissue. I’m constantly thinking about the students who sat there before me and the possibility that they could have coughed or sneezed without covering their mouths.

Speaking of which, I can’t believe that people actually walk around and cough and sneeze all over the place! When you feel a cough or a sneeze coming on, let it out into the inside of your elbow. Everyone has to breathe the same air, and you’re coughing your germs into it. I know that germs are everywhere, but that doesn’t mean that you have to add to it. I also know that as humans, we get sick from time to time with the common cold. That does not mean that you get a free pass to hack your germs onto the next person. That’s how viruses spread.

Please do not cough or sneeze into your hands. We touch so many door handles and desks on a daily basis. Imagine someone with a cold coughing and sneezing at the desk you’re sitting in. You touched the desk and now you’re touching your face. Guess what? Those nasty germs are crawling on your face, and they’re going into your body! Yeah. Scary stuff.

I can’t wrap my head around people not washing their hands in the bathroom. Why? Why would you do that? All the trillions of germs that chill in the bathroom and you choose to not rid your hands of them? Even though the university provides soap and water? Even if you just go into a bathroom stall to change or adjust your clothes, you are still touching the door and the lock on the door, and that’s what everyone touches after they’re done using the toilet. Now you have it on your hands and other areas of your body and you go on to touch other people and other things, and now those germs are everywhere thanks to you. Gross, right? Wash your hands, then!

I even hate going outside when it rains because when I get all damp from the rain water, I feel like the germs are more prone to stick to me! I’m obviously not a scientist but these are just some of my daily concerns.

Now do you see why I have a fear of an incurable disease? I’m afraid that all these germs, bacteria and viruses will band together and create a super virus! Then what? What if no cleaning method in the world can kill it? What are we supposed to do then? I’m probably being a little extreme here, but just in case, please … wash your hands and cover your mouth. Thank you and I hope you have a germ-free day.